http://www.kfdx.com/news/default.asp?mode=shownews&id=11482
VAFAIYAN GETS LIFE SENTENCE Thursday, March 30, 2006
A Wichita Falls man whom police call one of the biggest suppliers to Meth cooks is now behind bars. Reza Vafaiyan was found guilty of felony money laundering, yesterday and today he was sentenced to life in prison and a $10,000 fine. Local law enforcement officers say they hope today`s sentencing sends a message to other Meth suppliers.
During the trial, a narcotics officer testified about 4.2 Million of Meth was made from supplies Vafaiyan sold at the Krystal Mart. Vafaiyan called the District Attorneys criminals and said they manipulated the system. Reza Vafaiyan stated, "For me going 99 years to jail, I`m going to take it like a man. I feel like I donated something, just like I`m talking now, to civil liberty. Vafaiyan could be up for parole in 15 years and his attorney says they are appealing the decision.
History: http://staging.trnonline.com/trn/local_news/article/0,1891,TRN_5784_3102394,00.html
Businessman charged again
Vafaiyan arrested in possession of chemicals used to make meth
By Jessica Langdon/Times Record News
August 11, 2004
A search of a Wichita Falls convenience store - the scene of a major seizure in April - turned up more of the same meth-making items Monday night, an arrest affidavit said.
Narcotics investigators searched the Krystal Mart at 701 N. Eastside Drive and seized more than 4,000 pseudoephedrine tablets, 76 lithium batteries, a stolen pistol and more than $60,000 in cash, the affidavit said.
The store's owner was taken into custody during the search.
Reza Vafaiyan, 55, 2900 Kyle Cove, was charged with possession/transport of certain chemicals with intent to manufacture a controlled substance. Vafaiyan was held in the Wichita County Jail Tuesday on $250,000 bond.
Vafaiyan also faces similar charges from the April incident.
The affidavit gave this description of the incident:
A security officer at a Target store in the Dallas-Fort Worth area called the Drug Enforcement Agency Diversion Office in Fort Worth. The officer reported that security workers saw a man they knew - Vafaiyan - along with another man buying boxes of pseudoephedrine tablets in a Denton store Monday morning.
Information also came in about the two men making a trip to the Target near the Love Field Airport in Dallas to buy pseudoephedrine.
It's a practice known as "smurfing" - traveling from store to store to buy as much pseudoephedrine as possible, the affidavit said.
It's a practice Assistant District Attorney Rick Mahler said is common - and said that's why prosecutors want a law similar to the new Oklahoma law that puts the pills behind the counter.
He said people go from "drugstore to drugstore buying those," and said Texas has seen an influx of people coming in from Oklahoma.
He said the district attorney's office has been working with lawmakers, trying to get a similar bill in the works in Texas.
He said most of the more than 400 drug cases that have come through the office this year are meth-related, and the drug spills over into other crimes including forgeries, burglaries and identity thefts.
"Everybody pays for it," he said.
Crime reporter Jessica Langdon can be reached at (940) 763-7530 or by e-mail at langdonj(at)TimesRecordNews.com.
He said he was in jail and had not been notified that this was coming
"Krystal" Mart!?
...talk about painting a target on your back!
(gee...I wonder what gave me away?)
99 years? dentists are deeply saddened...;>
So you can get life in prison for selling sudafed, but probation for repeatedly raping a child. Crazy.
Krystal Mart...aptly named business.
Fascinating. I would bet that the guy turns a profit - while in prison.
Excuse me, but there's already a law in Texas for that. Our Walmart has a sign posted that as of last August, by law, they are required to keep those medications behind the counter.